Final Fantasy VII 1. Presenting: Doubt

I was shipped out to some outskirt town far from Midgar. My squadron were all in the helicopters behind mine, the pilot's announcing we were landing soon. I got up slowly and looked out the window, the village was coming into sight and I wondered what it was that Lazard was so scared of.

_"This is a solo mission. I've arranged for your squad to assemble at the hangar," Lazard explained, "this is the file for the mission."_

_I took it from him, flipping over the contents. "What is this?" I asked, shuffling through pages of empty spaces and question marks._

_"This mission has left us in the dark," he began, "I don't think I need to emphasize how dangerous this hunt is. I need you to be careful when you get there."_

_I gave him a nod and a smile, "you can count on it, boss."_

"Get ready," I whispered, checking my armour and materia, "lock and load, boys."

We came through the village, heading for the wooded area on its outskirts. I held my sword out, the seconds beside me, the thirds behind. The infantry men took to the end, looking out for our backs in case whatever it was we were looking for came out.

"What are we looking for?" Zack asked, with his standard issue sword out and ready.

"Reports didn't say. Just be on the lookout," I warned.

I walked slowly through the forest, a part of me wishing that nothing would happen. An unspoken SOLDIER rule was that we couldn't be afraid, especially not in front of any living, speaking creature. Another unspoken rule: follow orders and complete all missions. Failure isn't an option. I've taken that with me since I gained consciousness of the world. It's my dogma, my life.

Though it doesn't escape my attention, how I find it starting to sound stupider and stupider every day. SOLDIER rules. SOLDIER beliefs. SOLDIER protocol. Everything related to SOLDIER was so absurd. Risking our lives for something we don't know, thinking we're doing something so noble for people.

Thinking we're angels. Angels brought to the world to bring happiness and peace.

Maybe we weren't angels. Maybe we were monsters brought to create chaos.

"Commander," Zack called to me, keeping up appearances.

I looked towards him, giving a look. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing. You just seemed out of it," he replied, giving one of his infamous grins. Unbelievable; even at times like this, he could still act like that. But I should just call it a blessing. It's rare to find people who could bring up morale like he could.

I smirked continuing to scout the area, "all of you divide. We can gain better ground that way. Go in groups of fours. We'll take up less time and get back to the city quicker." My soldiers nodded, quickly moving in groups to search west and east. I waited for all of them to disperse, watching as their forms disappeared in the foliage.

"Why are you still here Zack?" I asked him, heaving my sword over my shoulder.

"Well, you said go in fours, but our numbers aren't evened out for it. And since you're still alone, I thought I should go with my mentor!" He explained, logically yet difficult to understand in his words.

"You're a real wonder, Zack," I said, turning my back to begin the search again.

"Enough to be First Class?" he asked, catching up to me.

"Match me in a fight, and then we'll talk." He groaned, causing me to smile and laugh.

The forest wasn't completely covered in trees. Parts of it had the trees ripped off with only holes or stumps to show that the trees were once there. "What happened here?" Zack asked and I wanted to ask if that was rhetorical or not.

"Zack, watch my back," I whispered, trudging slowly through the emptied land. Zack had his sword ready, turning around and around to see if any enemies were around.

"Zack! Down!" I shouted, pushing my protégé down as I parried with other hand. The beast snarled at me, growling in ravenous hunger. It came at us again, this time with a friend. Great, it spawns itself.

I blocked them both as Zack got his bearings. These things were beyond strong; they were heavy as a truck and as rabid as a rogue Chocobo. It chomped at my arms trying to eat it no doubt, but I held on. I wasn't dying there.

"Zack! Behind!" I shouted, taking one down as I pushed both off. I shot my gun at the other, blinding it and angering it at the same time. It came at me again, trying to knock my gun away. I pulled back quickly, saving my wrist from what would most probably be a trip to the hospital.

I sliced it cleanly, the head falling off in a split second. Its body fell to the ground with the head rolling a foot away. I took a long hard look at it and wondered what the hell it was.

It was a cross between a dog and a spider. Its head was of the dog, except for the hundred eyes. Its legs were a total of eight. Its fur was red. Its neck was plain skin. Descriptions were never my forte. Genesis was always the more verbose one of us.

"Let's move," I told Zack, "we can't stay here."

I ran through the forest with Zack behind me, I didn't know what the Goddess they were but I was sure as the Lifestream that I was going to find out.

"Commander!" a strangled voice called out to me. I stopped running for a moment, turning to my left as a figure came running. Realizing who it was, I met it half way.

"C-commander...m-monster...e-everyone k-k-killed..." he stammered, life faltering in my arms.

"Stay awake for me," I called out to him, shaking his body. I brought out a Curaga, trying it on him as his eyes began to glaze, "don't die on me!"

He coughed out blood, choking on it no less. And within a second, I had my first casualty. From the corner of my eyes I saw Zack's grip tighten on his sword and on instinct I knew what he was thinking.

"Don't even think about it," I whispered to him, placing the body on the ground.

"What do you mean? Those things killed him! It killed all of them!" He shouted at me for the first time.

"We don't know that. For all we know it could only be his group," I replied, my voice steadying to an almost emotionless tone.

"He had a family! His sister's waiting for him to get back! He, he-Ah!" He tried to reason, anger taking over him.

I shook my head, shoving my entire weight to pin him to a tree. I stared into his eyes and whispered, "Every single one of these guys have something to go back to, don't think I don't know. But how you're acting right now will get us killed a lot faster than going through this with a plan. As your commander, I order you to calm down and follow my lead."

I let him go, beginning to run the way he came. I wasn't conscious of anything at that point; I just needed to get my men out of there pronto. Whether Zack had followed me was beyond my attention, it was a one track mind at that point.

The forest path was cleared of trees already; whatever it was attacking already headed somewhere else. I came to the next clearing, seeing bloodshed and bodies. Four of my soldiers were gone. And I could do nothing about it.

"Damn it," I muttered, taking out my gun and putting my bullet flare in. Better to take them in numbers than taking them alone.

"What's the plan Commander?" Zack asked, coming to my side as I checked for any pulse.

"Right now, we wait for the others. We need to do this as a group," I muttered.

I chastised myself for this horrible decision. My instincts had told me to stay together, even Lazard had said to be careful, but did I listen, no. For once, I didn't listen to what was practical. I don't know what came over me when I said that. Whether it was the unease of the soldiers or my own selfish want to get this over with, I made a horrible decision.

"Commander, commander," a voice huffed. I stood quickly and turned to the incoming men, but I couldn't look at them for long.

From the eighteen men I had, only five remained.

"We we're attacked commander, some strange beasts came at us and killed the rest. I met up with Kirk and Jonathan, as Mick and I escaped. Forgive me for abandoning the rest," he begged, kneeling with desperation in his voice.

I shook my head, picking up the wounded man. "It's fine. You made the right choice. At this point, we have no option but to return to base and report to the Director. Did you manage to kill some?"

"We killed the ones that came for us."

"Good work," I muttered, picking up my sword again, "all of you go back."

I stayed still, looking out for something I couldn't see. "Commander?" Zack whispered.

"Retreat! All of you get out of here, that's an order!" I shouted, urging all of them to run, knowing they wouldn't leave had I not ordered it.

My men took no second look as I shouted out the order. Only Zack remained.

"Zack, go," I shouted threateningly.

"Not without you, Commander," he said with a smirk. I said nothing as the mother of all these beasts came out.

Its legs pushed deeply into the ground, creating large punctures into the land. The trees split in its path as it spewed out acid from its gargantuan mouth. It looked like its children but its size was immense.

A scream pierced the air as a new form made our lives a lot harder. "Crap," I muttered, looking from the child to the thing, hoping it had not heard.

It made a move, its front legs lifting as it gave out a loud roar. The earth trembled and shook and the child screamed louder. The legs made to fall and I dashed in for the save.

"Osiris!" Zack yelled, trying to stop me from my suicidal attempt at heroism.

I lunged for the kid, holding her in my arms as the legs crashed around us. Zack came running for me and I breathed hard as the thing began to take notice. "Zack, take her. I'll buy you time to get away," I ordered, handing him the girl who daren't let go of me.

"But, Osiris."

"This is an order as your commanding officer. You will not disobey me," I warned, prying the girl's fingers off me. He stared me in the eye with a defiant glint, but I stood my ground. I knew what I was doing.

"Take the child back to the village and go back to base, tell Lazard what's happening here. Tell them not to worry. I got it under control."

I knew Zack was adamant about leaving, but I knew it had to happen. This was fate. This was what I was made for.


	2. Whirlwind Of Hail

Zack jumped down quickly from the chopper, his body aching and bleeding from meeting that monster's children as he escaped. He dashed out quickly, shoving past the flood of people coming and going through the Shinra doors.

"Zack!" someone called out to him, but he didn't hear them. He had a one-track mind at that point.

He ran through the halls, pressing the up buttons on all the elevators. "Damn it!" he cursed, running for the stairwell.

The people glared as he shoved them away but he didn't care if he hated him. No, he didn't give a rat's ass.

Zack ran up the stairs taking two steps at a time. His body hurt but he didn't give in. He couldn't. If he wanted to see his mentor alive and well, anyway.

"Director!" he barged in, shocking the two people who stood inside. Zack ran to the desk, panting heavily, "We were attacked."

Lazard stood quickly, his chair hitting the wall behind him from the sudden movement. "What happened? Where is Osiris?" he asked, attracting Sephiroth's attention.

"What do you mean, 'where is Osiris?'" he questioned threateningly, piercing Lazard with his mako green eyes.

Zack looked between the two, "we were doing fine until the monsters attacked. They were different, more vicious. Osiris stayed to buy us time to escape. She told me to bring a kid back to the village and to come back here."

"You sent her to an unknown monster? Alone?"

"We didn't know," Lazard sat down, "We had assumed this was just a reconnaissance mission to find what was attacking hunters by the village." Lazard pressed the intercom, giving orders to men on the SOLDIER floor.

"All second class report to the SOLDIER training room. All second class report to the SOLDIER training room. Immediately."

"I'm going," Sephiroth said, looking straight at Lazard.

"I can see you're adamant about going, so I can't say much to stop you," Lazard said.

"Wait!" Zack said, "She said not to worry. She'll take care of it."

Osiris limped through the forest, taking a break every twenty steps. The thing was dead and so was its children, maybe even she was, but she still had some fight in her and she was not going down until the last spurt.

She saw the desert in front of her, a glimpse of hope in that bleak diseased area. Osiris made a great effort from it, getting up off the ground and making steps again. It was there, a black form on the horizon. Her bleeding, wounded and aching body, actually relaxing for the moment.

As the sound came to her and the view becoming clearer, her body began to relax. Her mind thought otherwise. As she came to it, her view was mako clear.

It was a helicopter.

Lazard paced in his office, occasionally rubbing his temples and sitting on his chair. Sephiroth had left with Zack to wait for further orders. The latter was angry beyond all consoling and Zack was in the hospital, with the other members of Osiris' squad.

"Director!" A SOLDIER barged in, "one of our copters just arrived!"

Sephiroth sat in their usual meeting room, Angeal and Genesis staying with him as they waited for any news. He remembered what he had said to Lazard and how the Director shook in his patent leather shoes as he sat there.

"She'll be fine," Angeal assured with all seriousness.

He hadn't left his seat since he got there. Osiris in trouble wasn't an easing thought. Maybe if he had finished his mission quicker, come back sooner; maybe he'd be sent with her and she wouldn't have to be in that predicament. Why Lazard sent her with only eighteen men, was beyond him.

"If only I finished earlier..." Genesis muttered, rubbing his temples.

"If only any of us finished quicker," Angeal spoke for all of them, thinking deeply about this.

Sephiroth said nothing. Just waited. Waited. Like the last hour. And the hour before that.

A knock came at their door and the three woke up.

"Commanders!" someone called out, "Commander Osiris has returned! Director Lazard has asked you to come to the infirmary!"

The helicopter hovered over the Shinra hangar, descending slowly with their absent commander. The men below were assembling and a blonde head could be seen moving to it.

As the vehicle descended, a body came from the open door. Osiris stumbled forward, sword used as a walking stick and knees threatening to buckle in the next minute. She pushed the incoming people, trying to move towards the door.

She limped forward, her legs giving way. "You're not going anywhere," she heard Lazard say, catching her before she hit the ground.

"...have to see Zack," she replied, trying to break free from his grasp.

"Not now. He's not going to want to see you banged up," Lazard joked, heaving the unconscious commander up.

Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis came running. The nurses looked at them, knowing quickly what they're there for. "Room 7. Director Lazard is already there," a nurse said.

They walked briskly to the room, barging into it with no care. "How is she?" Angeal asked, looking from Lazard to their mummified comrade.

"She's lost a lot of blood and her body has been technically smashed by whatever it was. She came here slightly delirious and unaware of her current state. She wanted to see Zack before she'd get any help."

"Did she see him?" Angeal asked, looking down at their battered comrade.

"No, she fainted before she could get any closer to the door."

The three of them stayed silent, just looking at Osiris lying in bed. She was heavily covered from what they could see. Her forehead was wrapped tightly in gauze and her face was littered with tiny white bandages. Her arm was in a sling, the other lay prostate parallel her body, coloured clean white with the hospital cloth.

"What did this to her?" Genesis asked.

"She wouldn't say. None of her squad would either," Lazard replied, getting off his seat beside her, "I'll leave you all then. I suggest leaving when the nurse asks you too. The head nurse can get mighty snippy if you don't follow the rules."

As Lazard shut the door behind him, the three head SOLDIERs looked at Osiris. Maybe it was the disbelief that some monster could stop a Soldier of her rank, or maybe the worry that she wouldn't make it through the night; they didn't know, but something was eating them from the inside. Some strange ill feeling that told them, this wasn't the end of a whirlwind of hail.


	3. Unbelievable

It had been twenty-four days since I had left the safe-haven of the SOLDIER rec room. Even if I wanted to go back, it was too late for it already. There were too many questions that plagued my mind to make it clear enough for the SOLDIER side of me to think practically.

I had taken refuge in the small town of Nibelheim; a town that we rarely travelled too, considering the immense rural living that it presented. And when juxtaposed with modern Midgar, it was a medieval village.

Despite the lack of amenities I was used to, the village wasn't all that bad. Considering I had been living in make shift tents and caves for the most part of my voyage of self-discovery. God, how absurd that can sound: a First-class SOLDIER, born and raised in Shinra protocol, questioning her purpose in the world.

Unbelievable.

The people in Nibelheim weren't familiar with my identity and they probably wouldn't care. I mean, who would think a SOLDIER operative would come to this village alone and with no mission? Unbelievable would what most would say.

I have met a few people in my time here. One would be a young girl named Tifa Lockheart. She was the Mayor's daughter and a tough little girl. She even offered for me to stay in her house for the mean time, of course, I declined. Just because the people didn't recognize I was a SOLDIER, didn't mean the mayor wouldn't have.

I've been living in the old Shinra mansion for the days I stayed here. None of the villagers minded that I did of course; they had all assumed I was just either crazy or a death-seeker for living in an abandoned mansion, suspected to be haunted and filled with vicious monsters.

But those monsters are all still nothing compared to what I faced more than five months ago.

"Iris! Can I come with you inside the Shinra Mansion tomorrow?" Tifa asked, a bright hopeful glint in her eyes.

"What did your dad say?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Does he really have to know?" She asked sheepishly.

I thought about it for a minute.

SOLDIER mind says no. Osiris mind says yes. SOLDIER mind says never bring civilians into dangerous areas. Osiris says screw it, Tifa can handle it.

"Alright, tomorrow," I replied, patting her head.

I watched Tifa run off towards her house, a slight skip in her step. That girl was quite the kid. She had enough motivation to move the Northern Crater South.

I watched her as she disappeared into her house and finally entered my own. More home, than house really.

I took room in the upstairs bedroom, ridding it of monsters and putting up a materia to avoid them coming in. It worked for the most part, except for those instances where they decided that they should come into the room and try to eat me, and I end up waking in a bad mood causing me to kill more than just that one coming in; and thus, resulting in me obtaining no sleep at all.

But I guess I have to thank SOLDIER life for being able to stay alert and awake even without a night's sleep. Midnight missions weren't too often, but they weren't that rare either.

"What's down there?" I wondered, moving to a door.

I moved in slowly, my gun and my sword ready when needed. If I didn't have either with me, then I would be crazy. But it did cause me to get stared at a lot and I wondered why. Everyone who's sane practically had a weapon with them. Even at least Mace.

I crept slowly into a basement room, seeing some lights still flickering in the inside. I pulled my gun out, raising it up and unlocking the trigger. There was something alive there and I could feel it. Maybe it was the inhuman traits put into me by the experimentation or my own personal intuition, but something was there.

I pulled out of the corner, my gun out in front of me and my other hand on the hilt of my sword. My eyes scanned the room about and found nothing but inanimate objects inside. There were coffins though, that was always odd.

I brought my gun down but my guard was still up. There was something still off with the room after all.

I walked around the coffins, opening them out of curiosity. They were empty and dirty, with no insects crawling on the inside. I shut them with a bang, moving onto the next and then the next.

Then one coffin caught my eye. It was isolated and dusty, the lid shut tightly with décor slightly different from the rest. I felt something strange about it. It was something unlike the other coffins around me. There was something inside it that I had to see, if not acknowledge.

I came closer to it, my gun clutched tightly in hand. I reached for the lid, fingers gripping the edges.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked me.

I let go immediately, pulling my gun to the new being's throat. I felt cool metal on my own neck and I realized he wasn't a defenceless civilian after all.

"Who are you?" I asked, avoiding his question.

"I should be asking you that, after all, you are in my home," he whispered, his voice not holding above a low whisper.

"Your home? No one has live here for the past thirty years," I answered.

"Who are you?" he asked, not putting his weapon down.

"I'll tell you if you put your gun down," I replied, knowing this would go nowhere if we remained to be hostile.

Reluctantly, he put his gun down. And so did I. "My name's Osiris Cordovo. And you?" I replied, still eyeing the red cloaked man suspiciously.

"Vincent Valentine," he mumbled.

I breathed easy, sensing no threat from him. I sat on the coffin I had wanted to open, the curious feeling gone as if it was never there. "Why are you here?" he asked, not moving from where he stood.

"I've been living here for the past few days," I answered, finding no harm in telling a complete stranger of my current predicament.

"You have no home?" He asked, unsure of what he would say.

"I left my home," I replied, finding it the first time for me to say it, "why are there no monsters here?"

Vincent looked around, finding my statement accurate. "The remnants of the lab must be keeping them at bay," he muttered again.

I looked up at him, taking a good look at the mysterious man. He had long dark hair and a pale white complexion. His entire body was covered by that long red cloak with an amazingly high collar. And his eyes were red. A deep bright red, something I've never encountered before. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I've been sleeping here for thirty years," he answered, looking back to a coffin not so far from where we were.

"And this, I assume, would be the first time you've awaken," I said.

"Because of your loud banging, yes."

"I'm sorry," I replied, knowing I shouldn't have been doing that, alone or otherwise.

"It's alright," he replied.

"Do you mind then if I stay here? I think I'll be able to get some sleep here," I asked, not questioning his living choices and his rather unbelievable story of sleeping for thirty years.

"It doesn't bother me," he replied, walking back to his coffin.

"Hey, V, don't sleep yet. I want to talk to you some more," I said, leaving up the stairs and back to the pit of doom.

Vincent Valentine was a strange person. A completely different being from who I was accustomed to. Though, he reminded me of someone, someone I love.

Vincent Valentine was a fascinating man. Incredible. Surreal.

Unbelievable.


End file.

Final Fantasy VII, Adventure, Drama